Elizabeth Blackwell: A Brief Biography

Elizabeth Blackwell was born February 3rd 1821 and
died May 31st 1910. As a girl she moved to the United States with her family where she worked
as a teacher. Despite widespread opposition, she later decided to attend medical college and
graduated first in her class, thus also becoming the first woman to receive her M.D. in the United
States. She created a medical school for women in the late 1860’s, eventually returning to
England and setting up private practice. Blackwell died on May 31st 1910 in Hastings. Back
ground and Education- Physician and educator Elizabeth was born February 3rd 1821 in Bristol,
England. Brought up in a liberal house hold that stressed education Blackwell eventually broke
into the field of medicine to become the first

woman to graduate from medical school in the
United States. In 1832, Blackwell and her family moved to the United States, first settling in
New York, and later moving to Cincinnati, Ohio. After her father’s death in 1838, Blackwell
who was versed in French and German, her mother and two older sisters all worked as educators
to make ends meet.
In the mid- 1850’s she opened a clinic that became known in New York dispensary for poor
women and children. With help from her sister and fellow doctor Emily Blackwell, who worked
as a surgeon, She set up a private practice and infirmary for indigent women. She believed in
helping the community mainly focused on women, and children, giving back to the less
fortunate, since women were not allowed to do much she went to school earned her medical
degree now is in the helping profession.